The Bird’s-eye view: Greater good requires concerted efforts

Hanging around a representative sample of UCU staff has revealed two perception extremes. There is a section that is passionate about the university and work wholeheartedly every day to see it prosper.

There is also another section whose association with the university is simply an opportunity to get paid at the end of the month.Sadly, the latter are the majority.

To illustrate this, let us refer to the results of the survey conducted by the Career Development and Placement office among 500 new students, representing a quarter of the registered students.

When asked about how they got to know about UCU, 11.2 percent credited career outreaches, 11.4 per cent the press, 22.2 per cent through students and staff of UCU and 55.2 per cent had heard of UCU through friends and relatives who have no history with the university.

From the above statistics, one would wonder how external forces (friends and relatives) can account for the biggest percentage of information to new students, more than staff and students who arguably have a better understanding of the university within which they work and study.

Secondly, how come the media contributes less numbers despite the university’s continued investment in commercial advertisement over the years? And how can these millions of shillings be redirected for better output?

An overriding reaction may be that the university has not invested a lot in its students and staff to partake of the marketing processes. In so doing, the students and staff see marketing as the sole responsibility of the Marketing, Communications and Public Relations offices.

When crisis hits, it becomes easier for a student or staff member to press their ‘ignore’ button and pass on responsibility for cleaning up the mess to the above mentioned offices.

In the short term, this “as long as I get paid attitude” can be sustained but as the effects sink in, especially in the light of dwindling student numbers, is this attitude tenable?

Is it not time for the university administration to adopt an intra-marketing approach through which it can motivate its major stakeholders: students and staff, to promote and defend its image as people who have something to lose?

What if part of what is invested in the newspapers and TV commercials was to be redirected into making students and staff feel significantly involved in the making of university policies so that when the need to discuss them arises, they do not begin pointing fingers elsewhere?

Superimposing policies and resolutions hatched in exclusive boardrooms is what has caused students and staff to feel alienated in policy formulation and implementation. Instead of being contributors, the stakeholders are merely shock absorbers of the outcomes.

If I did not know any better, I would say that this is what caused the strike that resulted in the expulsion of some students last semester. It did not have to get to that had the students been involved in the dialogue process and reasons for the increment explained.

The bigger picture requires a combined effort of students and staff to sail the university to greater heights in their respective capacities. This, however, has to be done in unison, not discord.

Alex is the Managing Editor of The Transparent Magazine, formerly The Standard’s Features Editor.

The overwhelming corruption indices among young people have forced Uganda Christian University (UCU) on journey to combat this vice.
Martin Kizito, the head of department of Public Administration and Governance, told The Standard that the university council on May 25, 2017 resolved that UCU will hold an annual anti-corruption week to condemn the vice.
The department of Public Administration will spearhead the campaign.
“The idea of the council is that as a Christian university we should not burry our heads in the ground and pretend that corruption is not around us yet it is everywhere and is affecting the entire country,” Kizito said.

Recently, researchers Save Uganda Initiative conducted a survey that revealed that 33% of the young people perceived corruption as a profitable venture.
The campaign started at Mukono Campus in the September semester of 2017 and this year it was taken to Kampala campus where it will run for a week from January 22-25 before rotating to the rest of the UCU campuses.
This year’s theme is “Avoiding Corrupting Forces of the World Consistently” and the selection was guided by 2Peter 2:20-21. Kizito said that are targeting both staffs and students.

Students’ involvement
At Kampala Campus, five students sat at panel on January and defined and explained what corruption is in the presence of the senior Inspectorate officer, Directorate of Education and prevention of corruption, Christine Iga.
Ivan Bojo, one of the panellist defined corruption as a form of behaviour that departs from ethics and morality.
“It involves favours, embezzlement, misuse of public funds and brides at every level of administration,” said Horace Mugabi another panellist.
Timothy Kajja was tasked to explain how corruption affects service delivery and he answered that because of corruption incompetent people get the jobs and do substandard work or nothing beneficial to societies.
The other panellist included Christopher Musoke who clearly brought out the number of laws that Uganda has put in place to curb the vice but said the implementation is still a problem.
He said that the institution entrusted with fighting graft only get those that were victims of circumstances (smaller fish), leaving the real culprits out (bigger fish).
Iga, said the IGG’s office has started going to such avenues to talk but also listen to the young people because they know that they may have the solutions to one of the nation’s biggest problem.
She also said that they have touched the big people such as the former vice presidents and prime ministers among others.

Vice chancellor speaks out
The vice chancellor, Dr. John Ssenyonyi in his remarks said that corruption is so much around us and that it is a temptation that everyone will face in his life time.
He further gave out tips to fight the vice. “The only way to overcome this temptation that is around us every minute and second is to be prepared at all times other than waiting for compromising situation to fight it:
l “Be content with what you have
l Trust in what the lord says is best for you
l Build a character that hates and rejects corruption
l Hide God’s word in your heart
l Obey the lord
l Keep fellowship with Godly people,” he advised.

Motie Musiime, a former classmate, shared a snapshot from Facebook to the mass communication class of 2010/13 whatsapp group. It was the birthday of Joan Ankunda, a classmate who had passed on earlier in the month.

The group, which is a little over a month old, suddenly exploded with RIP messages, most of which were from people who did not know the deceased too well. I was going to have none of it!

I quickly swung the group into another discussion direction. I suggested that rather than write winding words to the late Joan, which she wasn’t going to read, let us each contribute Shs10,000 to the wellbeing of her three-year-old son, Jayden.

This would be the time most WhatsApp group members climb into the kamooli, as non-responsive members are widely known. Having known Joan well from our time as interns at Daily Monitor (Mbarara bureau), the group voted me as treasurer of the collection.

Almost immediately the mobile money messages started coming in and by close of first day of fundraising, the group of 99 people had contributed Shs219,000 and the drive closed at Shs414,000, an amount not overwhelming but enough to buy baby Jayden milk and bread for at least three months.

This brings me to other WhatsApp groups. I have personally been in the habit of leaving two kinds of groups: those to which I have no association like say Ntare Old Boys yet I am from St. Josephs; and those that assume the role of comedians with members only contributing by sharing not so funny jokes and memes.

I admit that humour and laughter are necessary to human health but we must face the fact that they can be overdone sometimes.

I was in Kazo last month for my aunt’s burial and the Internet connection was poor so I was mostly offline.

When I finally logged on, I found 1,400 messages from a certain group, and a better part of these were jokes and memes. As if this were not annoying enough, they chewed about 70 percent of my data bundle.

WhatsApp isn’t Comedy Central, people! These groups can do a whole lot more than gossip and chew people’s data.

They can save a life in an insecure neighbourhood, generate capital for their members through saving schemes, they can save your marriage or relationship with a little advice or better yet, get you a husband or wife.

Ifyou are anagriculturalist, share farming tips, if you are a bishop or reverend, you can share a scripture or two.

This privilege should be limited to certified people not wannabe pastors and overnight apostles who are lately everywhere asking people to type ‘amen’!

If you are an academic, share that e-book, journal or documentary you watched. And if you are a journalist, keep the group informed. See what I did there?

So if you are not a comedian, steer clear of the jokes business and see how harmonious and beneficial WhatsApp groups will be.

Early this month Vilma Achieng was voted the Most Valuable Player (MVP) for the National Basketball League playoffs after leading her side to winning the title.
She also won the best rebounder, top scorer and best centre in the Zone V Club championship where the team won bronze.
Achieng was born on 23, 1993, in Siayi County, western Kenya, to the late Joseph Owino and Rose Akinyi.
She went to Wera Primary School from 1998 to 2007 before joining Raliew Secondary School for her O-level from 2008-2011.
She previously played volleyball and football before she decided to concentrate on basketball.

Joining Lady Canons
Uganda Christian University (UCU) administration, with the help of an old friend and former Canons player, Robert Mugabe, advised her to join the Lady Canons despite her having wished to play aboard. She accepted the offer.
“While on the team, I began improving as a player each day and built a lot of personal confidence,” she said of her acceptance.

Awards
In 2015, Achieng was named the MVP in that season’s National Basketball League. After consulting teammates, Coach Nicholas Natuhereza made her captain.
In 2014, she had also been voted the league’s top scorer and best rebounder. under her leadership, Lady Canons have managed to win the championship for three years in a
row (2015-2017).
Emmanuel Kiguyi, the Lady Canons tactician, says Achieng is an amazingly gifted
sportsperson who has grown as a player and leader in the past few seasons.
“I think she has finally become comfortable and confident in her role as a team leader and I am confident there is more to come from her,” he says.
on any given night, he says, she is capable of being the most dominant force in Uganda women basketball if she puts her mind to it and this is the next challenge she has to take on.
She was impressed for having won the MVP but is now focusing on the new challenge ahead, she said, when contacted.

Academics and sports
She says advanced preparations help her to balance the two.
Despite having many other achievements, Achieng who is on a full sports scholarship plans to play professional basketball outside the region.
She is a student pursuing a bachelor’s degree in education.